


Grounding Rod

by Tiptapricot



Category: Legion of Super Heroes (TV), Legion of Super Heroes - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Emotional bonding, Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Mekt Ranzz is a good brother, Tender bro time, and they have some issues to work out, but they luv each other, mild panic attacks, they're just v soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-18
Updated: 2020-07-18
Packaged: 2021-03-05 07:40:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,497
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25347100
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tiptapricot/pseuds/Tiptapricot
Summary: Garth and Mekt have been through a lot over the years, but they’ve always had each other, and that’s what matters.
Relationships: Garth Ranzz & Mekt Ranzz
Comments: 4
Kudos: 12





	Grounding Rod

**Author's Note:**

> This is v self indulgent I just wanted a lil Ranzz bro angst n fluff. Enjoy!

Garth hadn’t been scared of storms before.

He used to go out in the front yard when it rained and listen to the thunder until his mom pulled him back inside. She’d give him a big shaggy towel and send him off to bed, and Mekt would always badger him about getting the pillow wet when he refused to dry his hair.

Garth hadn’t been scared of storms _before._

But now the lightning and thunder and patter of rain made him remember what it felt like to be on fire, what it felt like to have electricity burning through his veins, what it felt like to think he was going to die. He’d trace the thin, weblike, scar over his eyelid down to where it ended on his collarbone with shaking fingers, just to make sure he was still there. 

Sometimes he didn’t know if he was.

There’d be a crack of light across his window pane and he’d just see gnashing teeth and sharp tusks and a scorching hole in the ground, and he’d scream.

And then Mekt would be there, and he’d be shaking Garth out of the nightmares and trying to get him to stop crying. 

_“Hey, focus on me for a second, you’re alright, focus on me.”_

_“Garth, you need to breathe for me okay? Take a deep breath.”_

_“Stop screaming, you’re in the house, I’m here—please stop screaming.”_

They didn’t talk about it afterwards, they never did. Exchanges went back to being teasing and sarcastic, and they would pretend not to notice when Garth’s hands shook as he helped his dad unload groceries the next morning. 

Sometimes, if it was really bad, Garth would go to Mekt’s room for the night. He’d slip in quietly and make up his blankets on the floor, and at some point Mekt would drag him up to sleep under the covers with him. He’d mumble some excuse about Garth hurting his back before pulling him into a hug, and Garth would hug back hard.

They didn’t talk about that either. 

***

Garth found out about his lightning one hot humid day in summer. It was near harvest season, the fields overflowing with crops and the fruit trees bowing under the weight of plump lemons and apples.

He and Mekt tried to help out when they could, ferrying small loads to the silos and storage units while the big machines did the rest of the work. They were taking a break at the moment, washing the dust and sweat off their skin in a shallow tin tub behind one of the barns. Water had never felt so good in Garth’s _life._

“You ever think about leaving?” Mekt asked out of the blue.

Garth glanced up from the tub, wet hair plastered to his forehead. “What do you mean?”

“Do you ever think about leaving Winath, exploring the galaxy, you know, that type of thing?”

“No,” Garth splashed his face again, “why would I?”

“Jeez, Garth, I don’t know. Maybe because there’s a whole galaxy out there?” Mekt gestured to the sky.

“So? Mom and dad are _here,_ and that’s where I want to be.” He started washing the dirt off his forearms, calluses rough against his skin. “I don’t know why you want to leave so badly,” he added.

“Oh grife, life’s not just about farmwork, you know that right?”

Garth paused with a sigh, resting his elbows on the edge of the tub. “Space doesn’t exactly ‘call to me’ the way it does to you. I’m not the thrill-seeking type.”

Mekt rolled his eyes. “That’s a surprise.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

He laughed. “Oh c’mon Garth. Last month you were too scared to make the jump across the river, not to mention you always avoid helping with any of the dangerous work. You _never_ do anything risky, I mean seriously, I bet you wouldn’t even—woah.” Mekt’s expression fell. “Dude… your eye.”

“What?” Garth brought a hand up to touch his face and was met with a blinding crack and the smell of ozone. He stumbled back from the tub with a shout, his hands and face burning.

“Holy shit, Garth. Are you alright?” Mekt was at his side in seconds, hands squeezing his shoulders hard.

“‘T hurts,” he hissed, digging the heels of his palms into his eyes.

“What does? What hurts? Hey Garth, look at me. come on.” Mekt pried his hands away from his face. He looked worried, brows drawn together as his eyes flitted over Garth for any signs of injury.

“My… my hands,” he mumbled. Actually his whole _body_ hurt, his chest, his jaw, his legs, but it was hard to think straight. His brain felt so… loud. There was something thrumming just below his skin. Building and growing, like the water pressure on a clogged hose. It felt like something had been let loose, something he couldn’t control, and it scared him.

Garth groaned in pain and curled in on himself, breathing hard. Mekt was shaking him, saying something, shouting something? He couldn’t tell. The words were too muffled and messy through the buzzing in his ears. Another jolt shot through him, the burning sensation settling in the tips of his fingers.

Garth held up his hands, shaking as he watched them cramp and convulse. His veins were _glowing,_ stark and bright beneath the skin, and all at once he knew Mekt had to get _off_ and get _back_ or something bad was going to happen.

“Muv…” he slurred, pressing weakly against his brother’s chest. Mekt just shook his head, looking around desperately. Garth‘s head lolled back for a second, his eyes screwing shut as the buzzing became deafening. Mekt needed to move _now._

“‘G offa me!” He shoved against him hard, sending him sideways into the grass, and Garth had just enough time to scramble up and away before hell broke loose.

It felt like he was being ripped apart. Energy rushed out from his fingertips like an explosion, bursting across the ground and up the side of the barn in one quick, blinding, moment. There was a loud crack, red hot sparks spitting up into the blue sky, and the next thing Garth knew he was surrounded by white.

Then he passed out, and the world was blissfully silent.

***

Mekt was there when he woke up. He checked his temperature and squeezed his hand and brought him water when his throat got dry.

His dad came in with dinner late in the evening and sat on the edge of his bed. The barn was gone, he said, burned down to a pile of blackened wood and scrap metal. Neither of them blamed Garth for it, but he still felt horrible.

He stayed in bed for another week, going in and out of feverish hazes. Sometimes the lights would flicker, or his sheets would cling oddly to him when he moved, but he was never conscious enough to be scared.

And then it ended. His fever broke suddenly one morning and it was like nothing had happened. Except it _had,_ because now if Garth focused hard enough he could make the air around his hands crackle. 

A month after the incident Mekt pulled him into the backyard and showed him his own lightning. He’d been hiding it for most of the year, he said, and he’d been practicing. He snapped his fingers and made fireworks, and shaped a ball of light that looked like a star. Garth was mesmerized. Mekt told him not to be afraid, told him they had powers for a reason, because they were special. He taught him how to use the lightning, how to control it, and they’d spend nights down at the river scattering sparks over the water.

Garth had never been happier.

But then came the arguments, and the yelling, and the slamming front doors. Mekt left, Garth followed, and space was so much bigger than he ever could’ve imagined.

***

A lot happened in those next few years.

Garth became a hero, for one. He fell in love too many times to count, and got an awful haircut, and lost his arm, and saved his sister.

And Mekt came back into his life again, too. 

He’d visit him every week, sometimes with Ayla, sometimes on his own, and they’d talk through the force shield in the visitor’s center. Tacron Galtos wasn’t known for its hospitality, but Garth had gotten Tinya to pull a few strings with her mom for an extended visitor's pass. He had to remember to thank her for that.

Things were slow at first, awkward, but the first time Garth made Mekt laugh? Actually, genuinely laugh? It made him feel like they were kids again, young and innocent and still dreaming of an untouched galaxy, still hugging each other when the shadows grew too tall to handle. 

When Mekt laughed, Garth realized he was grounded again. 

He realized he was home.

And he never could’ve asked for anything more.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I’m probably going to be doing more LoSH show fic soon because I’m in A Mood™️ so if that’s ur vibe check me out on Tumblr under the same username. Hope you have a great day!


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